


What once was...

by BarPurple



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV), Stargate Universe
Genre: A Monthly Rumbelling, And angst, Crossover, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Lots of Angst, Minor Injuries, Now with added plot, Past Lives, Smut, Suggestive Themes, Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-03
Updated: 2019-01-08
Packaged: 2019-03-26 14:18:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13859490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BarPurple/pseuds/BarPurple
Summary: Dreaming was one thing, but this felt so very real.





	1. Chapter 1

It was the smell that reached him first. The delicious aroma of a good strong coffee, rich dark and brimming with caffeine. His skin sparkled in the light as he reached out to wrap his hands around the china cup that contained the blissful liquid. Some distant part of his mind noted that his skin didn’t look quite right, neither did his fingernails, but he dismissed that in favour of his prize. The first sip was closer to heaven than he ever expected to get. His groan of contentment was sinful.

“I take it I brewed it correctly?”

He cradled the cup to his chest, so he could inhale the steam as he spoke.

“It’s perfect Belle.”

The name felt both familiar and wrong on his tongue, but those perfect eyes and that smile, those he knew as well as his own. Belle swung her hips as she moved closer, a teasing pout on her lips.

“From the sounds you were making, a woman could be forgiven for thinking this coffee was the true love of your life.”

He’d never put a cup down so quickly in his life, he didn’t even mind the small amount that slopped into the saucer. His scaled fingers wrapped around Belle’s waist and her gently pulled her into his lap. She was still playing coy and pouting, but there was a twinkle in her eyes that reassured him this was all a game. He took her delicate, but work roughened hand in his clawed fingers.

“Sweetheart, coffee is a mere fleeting pleasure, how can it compare to smile that lights my mornings,” – he pressed a kiss to the palm of her hand, - “the companionship that brightens my days,” – she smothered a giggle as he kissed the inside of her elbow, - “the intelligence that eclipses every scholar in the realm,” – her hand found its way into his hair as he nuzzled at her neck, - “and a passion that makes my sleepless nights an orgy of debauchery.”

He barred his teeth in a playful snarl as Belle tugged his head back by his hair. She traced a teasing fingernail along his neck.

“That passion doesn’t have to be kept just for night time,” – his head lolled forward as she eased her grip, - “Unless you need more of your darling coffee.”

With the hand around her waist he pulled her in close, so he could rub their noses together; “Belle, why would I want hot bean juice when I can have you?”

She shrieked in surprise as in one smooth move her hoisted her in his arms and bounced to his feet. He made to stride to their bedroom, but Belle wagged a finger in front of his face; “Bedroom is for night time. This room is for day time. Take me on the dining table.”

She’d given voice to one of his most secret fantasies.

“Oh Belle, you wonder. Belle”

He plundered her mouth for a kiss and was met with the passionate ferocity that he had loved instantly about her.

 

“Isabel! Izzy! Wake up!”

Izzy sat bolt up right and snapped her eyes open in time to see Nick jump back. You would have thought after all the time they had worked together he would be ready for her electric shock wake ups. God knows she’d fallen asleep across enough desks in his company, at least with the consoles on Destiny she didn’t have to worry about having keyboard face, or paper stuck to her cheek with drool.

“Wazztup?”

Rush raked his hand through his hair and cleared his throat; “You were talking in your sleep. Good dream was it?”

Izzy shifted in her chair, painfully aware of the dampness in her knickers that was proof of just how good a dream she’d been having. She so wasn’t going to tell her boss she’d been dreaming about him, sort of, they had both been in that odd-looking castle, but they hadn’t quite been themselves, had they? Nick was waiting for an answer, so she grasped at the only safe for work element of her dream.

“Yeah, it was about coffee.”

Not a total lie, well done Izzy.

Rush grinned at her; “Aha, prophetic. I was just about to head down to the mess and collect our first ration of Destiny grown coffee-a-like,” - Izzy paused in rubbing the sleep from her eyes to pull a face, - “Don’t be like that, Rivers tells me it is at least as good as any dime store’s cheapest instant.”

Izzy yawned and dropped her chin into her hands; “I’ll take week old truck stop, as long as it’s got caffeine in it.”

“TJ assures me it has loads of that, hence why we’re on short rations until we readjust.”

Izzy snorted; TJ had been shocked when she’d found out just how much coffee her and Rush were used to drinking in a day. Their withdrawal freak-outs were something of a legend on the ship, she was surprised that their weren’t taking their first taste of Destiny Java in the med-bay hooked up to every monitoring device TJ could find.

She yawned again which made Rush wave a hand at her; “I’ll be as quick as I can.”

“Thank you, sweetheart.”

Rush dipped a clumsy curtsy that for some reason reminded Izzy of her dream. He turned on his heel and left quickly. Izzy’s eyes lingered on his backside as he walked out of the control room, for a crazy instant she wondered what he would look like in leather trousers. She squirmed in her seat again as a flush of heat raced to her face.

“Okay. Stop lusting after the sexy Scotsman and focus, Izzy.”

She reread the last passage of the file she had been translating before she fell asleep.

“The path to Ascension has taken its first steps in the lives that have been lived before. Who once was met, will be met again and again, until as one they rise to the next plane together.”

Izzy looked at the door Rush had walked through and bit her lip. If she’d read that anywhere else she would have dismissed it as hippy nonsense, but she was living on a spaceship, a few million lightyears from Earth, that had been built by a race of people who humans had worshiped as gods. She was living that Arthur C Clarke quote that Eli liked to use.

Was it possible she had met and loved Rush in another life?

-x-x-x-

Once he’d left the control room Rush had taken a quick detour into one of the bathrooms. After checking that the room was empty he’d pulled his shirts free of his belt and leaned his bare back against the cold bulkhead. His hissed through his teeth as the cold metal hit his heated skin. Fucking hell! Izzy fueled the dreams he had when he finally gave into sleep, but his frenzied imagination was nothing compared to hearing the woman herself in the grip of an erotic dream. He didn’t believe for a moment that she’d been dreaming about coffee. True he’d had some very intense dreams about a Grande Americano, but he didn’t think he’d ever moaned and whimpered like that.

Fuck; she’d called him sweetheart.

And now his brain wasn’t fighting for blood flow with his other head he realised that when she’d said that she’d sounded Scottish, she’d sounded like him. Just like she had when she’d been dreaming and called his name.

Except she hadn’t called his name, she’d said Belle, a diminutive of her own name. Why the fuck had he thought she’d been talking to him? She never called herself Belle, she was always Izzy, or Doctor French. He frowned, for reasons he couldn’t pin down at the moment the name Belle felt like it belonged to him.

Okay, that was a little crazy even for him.

He threw himself away from the wall and tucked his shirts back in. The last not-entirely-appropriate dream he’d had about Izzy she had sounded Scottish, and he, well he’d sounded Australian. He’d not told a soul about that dream, the only person he might have mentioned it to as idle chat was Izzy herself, and considering the staring role she’d had and the content of the dream he’d walk over hot coals before he told her about it.

He ran his hand over the bulkhead; “What game are you playing with us now, hey Destiny?”

He didn’t get an immediate answer. He never expected one from the ship, she’d reveal her secrets in her own time. He blew out a sigh as he patted the wall and headed at a jog toward the mess. He’d promised Izzy something close to coffee and he didn’t want to keep her waiting.

-x-x-x-

“Woah! Where’s the fire!”

Eli rolled his eyes as Rush didn’t even break stride after barrelling into him. There was a grunt from the mad scientist that he was choosing to interpret as an apology. He threw a quizzical look at Greer and asked; “Did I really just see Rush running to the mess?”

Greer nodded; “Yup. He must be fetching coffee for Izzy.”

“Rush doesn’t fetch anything for anyone. Ever.”

“He does for Izzy. Even back on Icarus, right from her first day now I think about it.”

Eli looked thoughtful for a second; “Those two ever, I mean are they, y’know?”

Greer chuckled; “Not as far as we know. You want in on the betting?”

“You run a book on anything. How longs it been going?”

“Since Izzy’s first day on Icarus.”

Eli shook his head; “Nah, if they haven’t yet, they ain’t gonna.”

They dodged to one side as Rush walked by his gaze concentrated on the two cups of almost coffee in his hands. Eli had never seen that level of concentration on Rush’s face unless he was in front of a whiteboard or a console.

“On second thoughts, I put a week’s still rations on them being together within the month.”


	2. Chapter 2

Another day, another near-death experience for the crew of Destiny. In truth, most of the crew rated this one as a minor mishap since only two people had been involved. Had they been back on Earth or even Icarus, it was the sort of work place accident that would have seen Young filling out a stack of forms as long as his arm and dealing with the crew’s grumbling at being sent on another safety course. There were some advantages to being on an Ancient star ship lightyears away from SGC, of course since Doctors Rush and French were the ones involved in the accident there were some disadvantages as well.

The first Young heard of the accident was Rush’s barked demand over the radio for TJ to report immediately to the storage bay they had opened up last week. He’d rolled his eyes and picked up his radio but stopped before he reminded Rush that he wasn’t in a position to give orders like that. There had been something unfamiliar in Rush’s tone; panic. Young swore under his breath and started off at a run to the storage bay. For all his many faults, unfounded panic was not one of Rush’s problems, so whatever had happened was serious.

He arrived at the storage bay to the sound of an argument. He pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath before venturing inside to back up TJ.

“Ye banged ya head, Izzy! Just let TJ check ye out!”

Totally unnoticed by either of the arguing doctors Young moved to TJ’s side and asked; “What happened?”

“I have no idea, they haven’t stopped bickering long enough to tell me.”

Young turned his attention to the two doctors; Rush was kneeling oddly on the floor by Izzy’s side, he was favouring his right leg while Izzy was holding her hand to the back of her head. Rush was right, TJ would want to look at Izzy first.

“Will you look at your leg Rush? I’m no MD, but it shouldn’t have made that cracking sound!”

“We need what’s in your head a damn sight more than we need my leg!”

“Oh yeah, because you are going to be such a joy to work with if you can’t pace around!”

As entertaining as their bickering was, this wasn’t getting them anywhere. Young squared his shoulders and roared; “Enough!”

He received a matched glare from Rush and French that would have sent a sensible person scurrying for safety, since that wasn’t an option if he wanted his two best scientists back on the job Young glared back at them both.

“TJ check out Dr French’s head wound. Rush tell me what the hell happened.”

Rush’s smug look was wiped off his face when Izzy winced as she rolled her eyes at him. Young wondered how the two smartest people he had ever met were so blind when it came to their feelings for each other. He shook those thoughts away as Rush began to curtly explain what had caused their situation.

“Izzy was on top of the ladder trying to get the storage unit door unjammed. She fell backwards,” – Rush swallowed and blew out a fast breath, - “I managed to break her fall, but my ankle twisted out from under me and she hit her head as we hit the deck.”

TJ reached into her medpack and said; “And she has a small laceration that needs two stitches tops. You’re gonna have a bit of a headache, and you’ll need to be gentle when you brush your hair, but other than that I think you’re fine,” – She glanced at Rush and her expression became firm, - “Colonel, can you get Rush’s boot off, please?”

“I can manage.”

“Nicholas!”

Young bit the inside of his cheek as Rush flinched at Izzy’s stern tone. The look on his face was as close to contrite as Rush ever got and with bad grace he allowed Young to take his boot off.

“Fucking hell! That’s a very gentle touch you’ve got there Young!”

“I’m a soldier not a nurse Rush.”

TJ finished up with Izzy and moved to her next patient; “That is a nasty sprain. Have you damaged this ankle before Rush?”

Rush ran his hand over his beard; “Erm…”

“Yes, that’s the one he twisted when he fell down the stairs at Icarus.”

Rush snorted; “I’d forgotten about that.”

Nobody else had. Izzy had been back on Earth and Rush had been a walking disaster the whole time. He’d fallen down the stairs because he’d been so caught up in his notebook that he’d not paid the slightest bit of attention to where he was at the time. He’d hobbled around on it for another day until Izzy returned to the base and dragged him to the infirmary.

“Right, I’ll strap this up for you and we’ll sort out a crutch for you for a few days. Try to keep it elevated.”

As TJ went to work, Young steeled himself for the next argument.

“When was the last time either of you slept?”

Rush just huffed at him, but Izzy answered; “Erm about twenty hours ago give or take.”

That give or take usually meant that it was safe to add six hours on to the figure she had given.

“Right you are both off duty for the next twelve hours,” – he raised a hand to halt the inevitable complaints, - “Twelve hours, away from the control room and your maths corridor, or I’ll confine you to the medbay.”

The two doctors shared a look, and finally Izzy shrugged. Young relaxed a little, if Izzy had given in then Rush would follow. He jerked a thumb at the storage unit they had been trying to open; “Right, what is in there that’s so damned important?”

 

-o0o-

 

After a stop by the mess hall Rush and Izzy had retreated to Rush’s quarters. They were technically following the Colonel’s orders and resting, it wasn’t their fault if he didn’t understand that they both found translating Ancient restful.

Rush became aware that Izzy was staring at him, he closed his notebook and looked up to meet her gaze.

“What’s on your mind?”

Izzy rubbed her thumb over her fingers; “Did you get a sense of de ja vu when I fell from the ladder?”

He put his notebook to one side and cautiously said; “I did yeah.”

“But it was different, last time, wasn’t it?”

Rush chewed on his bottom lip. He wasn’t used to opening up to people, but Izzy wasn’t going to accuse him of going crazy, from the sounds of it she was experiencing the same thing. He looked her right in the eye and said; “Last time I was trying to open the curtains that you’d nailed down. I fell from the ladder and you caught me.”

Izzy shifted closer to him; “I remember blinking in the sunlight that streamed through the window, but the brightest thing in the room was the love in your eyes,” she glanced at his lips, “you kissed me. I was terrified.”

He brought his hand up to cup her face; “Would you feel the same if I kissed you now?”

“Only one way to find out.”

She sounded about as confident as he felt. Neither of them moved for a long moment and then as one they leaned into each other, angling their heads just right so their lips met in a soft kiss.

Later they would both swear that there had been a flash of light, but they were almost certain that it was the electric flash of memories that flooded their brains as they kissed for the first time.

Izzy crawled into Rush’s lap and held his face between her hands; “You’re here and you’re alive. I thought I’d lost you, Belle.”

Rush peppered her lips with kisses; “I was coming back to you, Rumple. I promise I was, but something happened to stop me.”

Panting for breath they leaned back and stared at each other. Izzy shook her head; “Okay this is weird, I remember being someone else, but I know I’m still me?”

Rush nodded; “Aye, sounds about right. I’ve got gaps in my memories, you?”

“Yeah.”

His thumbs had been tracing circles on her hips as her fingers tangled in his hair. There was so much they had to talk about but all he could think of in this moment was kissing her. Izzy licked her lips.

“Can we just…”

She leaned in and kissed him again.

“Aye, we can just…”

Neither were exactly in top form. Rush hissed in apology when his fingers caught the stitches at the back of Izzy’s head, and she swore with him when she put to much of her weight on his bad leg. The mishaps didn’t put them off, soon they were both naked from the waist up and gasping at every slide and touch of skin on skin.

When Izzy clambered from the bed to wriggled out of her jeans Rush’s mouth went dry. She reached for his belt buckle, but he covered her hands with his own and shook his head.

“We don’t have any protection. I’ll make you cum, but my jeans should stay on.”

She lifted one of his hands to her upper arm and positioned it so he could feel the small tube lodged under her skin; “Implant, had a new one put in three months before we came to Destiny. We’re covered for at least three years. So, we’re good to go, unless you want to stop…”

Rush’s hands flew to his belt buckle; “Fuck no.”

Getting him out of his jeans and boxers wasn’t easy thanks to his sprained ankle, but the sight of Izzy naked as she bent over him was quite the distraction from the pain. He felt momentarily ridiculous sitting there bare arsed with a hard on and one bandaged foot propped up on a pile of pillows, but the hum of appreciation that Izzy made as her eyes roved over him quashed that before it could take hold. He held his hands out to her and whispered; “Come here beautiful.”

Izzy climbed carefully into his lap. Rush threw his head back against the wall and groaned as the slick heat of her sex dragged over his cock.

“You’re as eager as I am sweetheart.”

She planted nibbling kisses over his beard until she reached his ear; “Oh the dreams I’ve been having about us.”

“Tell me.”

She wriggled a hand between them and lined them up as she whispered; “That time I fucked you on the table in the great hall, do you remember?”

His answer was lost as they slid together. His hands found her breasts as she slowly rocked her hips. Rush dipped his head to kiss her neck; “I remember, you blushed every time I sat on the table for a week afterward.”

She tugged his hair to tilt his head back; “That’s what I was dreaming about in the console room the other day.”

“Fuck, I was getting hard listening to you, had to wake you up or I was going to need a wank.”

Izzy ground her hips down; “Well, next time wake me up and let me take care of you.”

Rush wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled his down on to his cock hard. Izzy threw her head back as her toes clenched into the mussed-up bedding. He couldn’t thrust as much as he wanted to, and the twinge of pain from his ankle reminded him that this was the only position that they could use this time around. He got a bit of a circle going with his hips which let Izzy’s clit rub against his pubic bone as she rocked her hips forwards.

With a string of curses Izzy suddenly clenched around his cock and his vision whited out as he came hard and fast. Izzy collapsed against his chest and he barely had the strength or co-ordination to lift a hand to wipe her hair out of his face.

Slowly their breathing returned to normal, and Izzy groaned as she rolled to snag Rush’s towel from the nightstand. After a bit of a clean up and some awkward shuffling they ended up under the covers with Rush’s ankle still propped up on a pillow and Izzy’s head resting on the lion’s share of the one behind them.

Their fingers threaded together on his chest. Neither spoke but both shared a sense of deep contentment. They were together again, as friends and lovers, and no matter how precarious their situation was on Destiny they would face it as one.

Deep within Destiny’s databanks a series of files unlocked and transferred to the main console. Neither Eli nor Volker noticed the new string of filenames appear on Rush and Izzy’s workstation, and even if they had they knew better than to poke around when the two doctors were on enforced downtime.


	3. Chapter 3

On board Destiny there was a mass excitement about the new files that had unlocked. Izzy and Rush had sworn up a storm and danced around the console room when they first looked at the new information. Izzy told Rush off for trying to dance on a sprained ankle and he dropped back into his chair, smiling at her enthusiastic bouncing.

“Aristarchus of Samos! Hero of Alexandria! Sappho! Hypatia! All works that Earth lost when the Library of Alexandria burned!”

Izzy was ecstatic, as were the dozen other crew who had stormed the console room when Eli announced the find over the comms. It was in the midst of this discovery that the other competitor for most surprising thing of the week was revealed. Rush had pulled Izzy into his lap as she danced by him, that he’d been laughing as he did it was a bit of a shock for the crowd that had gathered in the console room, that Izzy kissed him full on the mouth had caused a shocked silence.

“We’ve got a library, Izzy!”

“No, no sweetheart, we’ve got THE library!”

It took them both a moment to realize the stunned, slack-jawed looks aimed in their direction. Rush rolled his eyes and snapped; “What?”

Camile got her wits back first; “So, how long have you two been a couple?”

Rush and Izzy shared a look. It was an oddly complicated question for the two of them. They had been together in a past life, but weren’t sure on the time frame involved, Izzy shrugged and said; “Since last night. So, who’s won?”

Rush, who had been totally unaware of the existence of the betting, huffed and tuned out the debate as to the winner. Izzy listened for a moment, but then turned her attention to the files.

“We’ve going to need some experts from Earth. No one on board reads Greek this old.”

“Would be really good if they can find a couple of experts with eidetic memories, so Earth can get copies of this.”

Izzy kissed his temple; “Good idea.”

 

Over the next few days the news of Rush and Izzy’s relationship took a backseat because Destiny dropped out of FTL at a planet bursting with edible fruit and vegetables. The planet, quickly dubbed Farmer’s Market, also boasted an herbivore similar in looks to a rabbit, but the size of a capybara, meaning the crew could finally get some protein that wasn’t gruel. Since the ship wasn’t due to jump back to FTL for five days, the crew were heading to through the gate in shifts for some R and R, and to get some much-needed sunlight. 

Izzy had gone planet-side to take a look at some ruins, she’d promised to call Rush if the terrain was workable for his still healing ankle. If not, she’d said she’d still drag him through the gate, so they could sunbathe for a bit. He’d pulled her close into his side and whispered; “And will we be worrying about tan lines, Dr French?”

She’d playfully tugged his hair and whispered back; “If I can find us a secluded spot, then tan lines will be the last thing on your mind, Dr Rush.”

He’d sent her off through the gate with a kiss and a cheeky grin. He was looking forward to seeing what she had planned, but for now, he was working in the console room with his ankle propped up on a botched together footstool. With Izzy gone, and his ability to pace around the room limited he was cranky, the odd looks Chloe kept shooting at his were not improving matters.

“Enough. I’ve not grown a second head, why are you staring at me so much?”

She shifted uncomfortably; “I like Izzy, she’s a good friend.”

Rush gave her a blank look, wondering why she was stating the obvious.

“I don’t want to see her hurt, Rush. She’s never talked about it, but she’s had feelings for you for a long time. She’s all in on this relationship, are you?”

“Why would you think I wasn’t?”

Chloe stood up and crossed the room to stand by him. She tapped his left hand; “You’re still wearing your wedding ring, Rush. Think about what you’re doing. I’m going to hit the mess.”

Rush stared at the band of gold on his finger. He’d worn it for so long, there had been a time after Gloria’s death where he’d felt the weight of it so painfully that he’d taken it off one morning and left it on his dresser. He’d made it half way to work, before he thrown the car into a U-turn and raced back home to retrieve it. After that he’d never taken it off again. It was one of the strangest parts of using the communication stones; the weight of the ring was missing, and if the body he’d borrowed did had wedding rings they felt wrong. 

He loved Izzy. He’d loved Gloria. Was it wrong to wear a reminder of his past with his wife now he was with Izzy? Considering the past lives they were now remembering, did it make any difference?

“Bugger!”

Chloe had put this sodding idea in his head, that somehow, he wasn’t serious about Izzy while he was still wearing the ring that Gloria had given him. His rocked the band of worn gold back and forth with his thumb. The ring was a symbol of commitment and it was his commitment to Izzy that Chloe was questioning. He gripped the ring with the fingers of his right hand. He slid it over the first knuckle of his finger and paused.

He slammed the ring back into place and swore. There was a nagging feeling that her and Rumple had been through something like this before. Rush ground the heels of his hands into his eyes and tried to sort his pronouns out. It wasn’t as confusing as he’d thought it might be to think of himself as her, but it helped to try and keep the lives separate when he was dealing with the mysteries of emotion.

There were gaps in his memories of being Belle, but there was an impression of an argument that led to separation. Rush had no memory of what they had argued so bitterly about, but for some reason he was certain it wasn’t about a former lover, or spouse. He did remember being spitting mad with Rumple’s stubbornness, and that made his laugh out loud. It anything this time round he was more obstinate than Izzy, although she might not agree with that.

It was Chloe who started him thinking like this, and to be brutally honest she was not part of the equation. He would talk to Izzy, if she wanted him to take off the ring then, well, they would go from there, maybe it would be easier with Izzy by his side.


	4. Chapter 4

The ruins on Farmer’s Market were nothing interesting. Although Izzy would admit there was something familiar about the structure, but she’d seen so many Ancient buildings that they were all blending into one.

Any inscriptions on the stones had been lost to the plant growth and wind ages ago. Izzy wasn’t disappointed, at least not as disappointed as she would have been before her and Rush got their act together. She chuckled as she recalled Rumple’s memories, taking their time to see the blindingly obvious was a thing for them across their lives apparently.

The memories of being Rumple had settled into her mind as if they had always been there, which in a way she supposed they had. She was glad she’d had a better childhood than her former self, although Malcom had set the bar for decent father so low it hadn’t been hard to beat. Moe had been better, just. Both her and Rumple had lost mothers, and they had both lost kids.

Reincarnation sucked, but most of it she could push to one side and ignore. Rumple had been very good at bottling emotions up and thank gods that bit crossed over lives.

The only part she was having difficulty with was Rumple’s use of magic. She knew it was magic, she remembered brewing potions that used herbs picked under moonlight, and snake’s tongues, and other parts of more mythical creatures. She remembered that they had worked. As Rumple she had bewitch people, bottled True Love and turned people into snails with the flick of his hand. She remembered that magic was real, but Izzy was having a hard time reconciling magic and science. She kept looking for a scientific explanation for his potions and ability to teleport, but could find none because magic simply was magic.

It was niggling at her because she felt there was a link between the two, science and magic were so close, there had to be. As she stepped back through the Gate it hit her that she was in the one place in the universe where she stood a chance of discovering that link; Destiny.

Rush was waiting for her in the Gateroom. His grumpy stance shifted into something lighter when she strolled down the ramp, but there was still a tension about him. She wondered if he’d been pacing and overtaxed his ankle. She should have tied him to that damn chair before she left.

He wrapped his arms around her and gave a hug.

“How’s the planet?”

Izzy rubbed the tight muscles of his shoulders; “Ruins are nothing to write home about, but there is a lake.”

Rush grinned; “Oh a lake. Nice spot to sunbathe?”

“A nice private spot to sunbathe in fact.”

“Good, I need some time with you away from these idiots.”

That surprised her. Rush wasn’t shy about public displays of affection, and in the few days they had been together word had already got around the crew that knocking on the door to any room they were in alone was essential. Why she blushed and wanted the Gate to open up under her feet and swallow her Rush just laughed and told the interloper to jog on.

Izzy remembered that Belle had been the same. She couldn’t recall who had been so mortified when they had walked in on them fucking against a wall, but he’d had really great teeth, like Disney Prince level perfect teeth.

She dragged her attention back to the moment. Something was on Rush’s mind and it was clearly something to do with the crew. Izzy would have suspected Young had been getting under his skin if it wasn’t for the fact Young had been on the planet for the past few hours.

As they waited to go through the Gate Izzy noticed Chloe giving Rush a strange look, which he was pointedly ignoring. Ah, so that explained the who behind his bad mood, now all she had to do was find out the what. She’d always like Chloe, but as she wrapped an arm around Rush to help him limp up the ramp she felt a sudden conviction that she would turn her into a snail if she’d upset her lover badly.

Before the shimmering puddle of the Gate Rush squeezed her bum and whispered; I know that look, behave.”

She only had time to give him a quizzical look before they stepped into the event horizon. On the other side Rush blinked in the warm sun and sighed as a light breeze ruffled his hair.

“I always forget how much I miss this.”

“Wait till you see the lake.”

With his sore ankle it was slow going to get to the spot Izzy had found for them, but Rush didn’t care. The sun was shining, he had the woman he loved by his side, and there was the promise of a good meal thanks to the abundant food on this planet. This moment was idyllic. He wasn’t sure when he’d become this much of a romantic, but it felt good.

He gasped as they rounded a small stand of trees and he got his first look at the lake. Mossy grass formed a bank that gave way to a sandy shore lapped by inky water. The mottled leaves of the trees whispered in the breeze and provided a refreshing shade. It was beautiful and very familiar. Izzy helped him sit down on the soft grass and he leaned into her side as they took in the view.

“It’s like coming home, isn’t it?”

He grinned at Izzy; “I can’t believe it. Half expecting to see the castle just to the right there.”

As she leaned forward to help him unlace his boots she hummed; “Oddly enough the ruins are in that direction.”

Rush wiggle his sock clad feet, wincing slightly at the faint pain that shot through his sprained ankle; “I suppose even in a universe of infinite possibility there’s going to be duplication.” His mouth curled into a sly smile as he jerked his head toward the lake; “Any fish in there?”

Izzy laughed and poked him in the side; “Even if there are I’m not letting you go fishing. Only wee maid in all the realms who could manage to go fishing for trout and hook an angry kelpie!”

Rush affected a pout of hurt; “I didn’t know it was in there, or that it had a fondness for worms.”

His pout turned into a wide smile as they both laughed at the memory of one of their more ridiculous adventures as Belle and Rumple. For a critter only nine inches tall the kelpie had expressed a great deal of anger at being hauled from the lake. It had settled down once Rumple appearing in a cloud of smoke and glared at it, but it took revenge for a few weeks afterwards by hurling pebbles and pond weed out of the lake every time Belle ventured to the shore.

Rush took hold of Izzy’s hand and threaded their fingers together; “So you want to tell me what provoked the ‘I’m going to turn someone into a snail’ look?”

She stroked the back of his hand and countered with; “What did Chloe say to get you so worked up?”

“Ah. She is worried for you. Thinks that I’m not invested in our relationship because I’m still wearing this.”

He held up his left hand and flexed his ring-finger. Izzy looked at the band of gold that symbolized his marriage to Gloria.

“I can take it off.”

The uncertainty rang in his tone. Izzy shook her head; “Don’t. You loved her, and I won’t have you thinking you have to deny the love you shared with her to prove a point to Chloe or anyone else. We loved each other before and we’ve found each other again, but we’ve not lived in a bubble waiting for the other to come into our lives again.”

He blew out a relieved breath and kissed her, murmuring his thanks against her lips. The hint of anger she’d felt at Chloe dissipated as she lost herself in his kiss.

 

On the ship Eli was skimming through some of the files that Destiny had unlocked. There was a staggering variety of topics, every science he had heard of and then some; but one file caught his eye because it was so out of place.

“A book of fairy tales? Unexpected.”

He scrolled through the file and discovered it was illustrated. His eyes bugged at one of the pictures. On the title page of Beauty and the Beast, the woman looked exactly like Izzy. For some reason the Beast wasn’t furry, but glittery and scaly. When he tilted his head to one side and squinted the picture looked quite a lot like Rush.

Eli laughed and marked the file for later, people were going to get a kick of this coincidence. The radio at his side crackled into life and Greer called him to the Gateroom for his R and R. Eli left the console, so he didn’t notice that the next illustration in the story showed another familiar face.


	5. Chapter 5

Eli ambled up to the ruins with a Kino. Izzy and the rest of the science team had already declared the ruins uninteresting, but he still wanted to document them, just in case. Most of the crew where down by the river, and he’d been warned half a dozen times that Rush and Izzy where at the lake. He wondered how long their honeymoon phase would last, he’d started walking into the control room with his eyes shut just to be on the safe side. Some people were quietly muttering about what would happen if they broke up, but Eli knew that wasn’t on the cards; Izzy and Rush looked at each other the same way they looked at Destiny, which was a little bit unsettling, but kind of sweet.

“Recording again Eli?”

The voice startled him and stumbled. The snort of laughter and he looked up to see Bobby Driscoll lounging on top of one of the ruined walls, smirking down at him. Eli got on well with everyone on Destiny, it was almost a superpower, but Driscoll gave him the creeps.

“Yep, y’know, it might come in useful.”

Driscoll’s face twisted into a doubtful sneer, which rankled Eli because his Kino recordings had been very useful more than once. He chose to ignore the man and focus on setting the Kino to sweep the ruins. Driscoll just sat there and watched, probably with that smug sneer on his face, but Eli wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of looking.

He’d feel better if Driscoll was less of a mystery. He’d been part of the Senator’s entourage but had never given anyone a clear answer as to what his job entailed. He was good at hydroponics and would always lend a hand for heavy lifting, but his babyface and cold eyes made Eli’s skin crawl.

After an uncomfortable five minutes Driscoll heaved a sigh and jumped down from his perch on the wall.

“Well, as thrilling as this is I’m going to take a stroll by the lake. You’re not planning on recording down there are you?”

Rush and Izzy were down at the lake, since Eli didn’t want to get an eyeful, or an ear bending for interrupting something he wasn’t going anywhere near the lake.

“Nope, just the ruins.”

Driscoll gave him a toothy grin; “Good, perfect place for a stroll then.”

As Driscoll walked away Eli felt a tiny bit guilty for not warning him about Rush and Izzy, then again, he couldn’t think of a better person to get yelled at by an annoyed Australian and Scotsman.

Driscoll contain his snort of laughter until he was well away from the ruins and that idiot Eli. He knew exactly who was down by the lake and he had no intention of going anywhere near it. Seeing Nicholas Rush’s bare arse held no attraction for him before, and even less now he’d got his memories back. He rolled his eyes, it irked him that he had True Love’s Kiss to thank for breaking the Curse. He didn’t know how the laddie had slipped that little clause into the Curse, and it made him wonder what other little loopholes were waiting for him.

Time was still a difficult concept for him, but it had clearly been ages since the Enchanted Forest had been home to anyone. He’d known where he was the moment he’d stepped through the Star Gate, the tingle of magic the best welcome home he could have asked for. The annoying thing was it faded as soon as he returned to the ship. Magic it seamed was only present and possible on this planet, and that meant he only had a few days to execute his final plan.

He glanced around, some of the crew were just in sight, but far enough away not to cause him a problem. He dropped his backpack from his shoulder and took a breath before he pulled out the wrapped package he’d found in the ruins.

“So careless with something so precious? Did you even think to look for this?”

The name etched on the blade gleamed in the sunlight. Driscoll was careful not to touch the Dagger directly he didn’t want to alert Rush to its presence just yet. Let him have some time with his chit of a maid, it would make the final blow all the sweeter if he had a fresh taste of what he was going to lose. The look on Rush’s face when he finally revealed himself was going to be delightful, but first he had to release his Shadow and for that he was going to need somewhere more private.

“Oh laddie, time you were reminded that Peter Pan never loses.”


	6. Chapter 6

The soothing lapping of the lake’s waves and the warm whisper of the breeze in the trees had encouraged a lazy love-making that left them both satisfied and sleepy. Rush lay stretch out on his back with one arm tucked under his head and the other firmly around Izzy as she dozed against his chest. They’d put some clothes back on afterwards, more for Izzy’s desire for modesty than anything else. She was right it would be a shame to spoil a perfect day with bitchy comments should any of the crew happen upon on them starkers.

Izzy mumbled incoherently as she shifted against his chest. He rubbed her back to soothe her and then hissed as her fingernails dug into his ribs. She’d had bad dreams for as long as he’d known her and since Rumple’s memories had woken up they had only gotten worse. Rush wished there was more he could do to guard her from her nightmares but waking her up at this point was usually impossible. He eased his arm out from under his head and pried her hand from his ribs letting her fingers clench at his. Holding her hand as he cuddled her close was small comfort, but it was the best he could do until she awoke.

 

Pan wiped his brow. The fire he’d built was blazing hot and casting a perfect shadow against the rock face. He’d been tempted to use Rumple’s blade for this but finally decided that as sweet as that would be, it was better to keep the laddie in the dark for as long as possible. The air force issue utility knife lacked gravitas but would serve his purpose just as well. 

He bent at the waist and dragged the knife across the dirt at his toes. His Shadow wriggled free of the rock face and flew forward to hover in the air before him.

“It’s been far too long.”

The Shadow nodded and Pan grinned.

“We have work to do. Go fetch that son of mine, bring his little maid to, she should be here to witness the sort of man he really is.”

As the Shadow flew away Pan thought there was something different about it. He shrugged, it had been along time since he had seen it free to move on it’s own, it was bound to look unusual, even his memory wasn’t perfect.

 

Eli wasn’t sure why he’d set the kino to follow Driscoll. It was probably because he looked so shifty as he strolled along in the opposite direction from the river where most of the crew had settled for their shore leave. To be fair Eli always thought Driscoll looked shifty; he trusted the man about as much as the majority of the crew trusted Rush.

And now he knew why. Bobby Driscoll was Peter Pan.

From the age of seven no Disney villain had scared Eli as much as Peter Pan did. He’d run away from home when he was six. It had been during the rough time after his dad had left and his mom was working all the hours she could to keep them afloat. He’d been found less than twelve hours later by a local cop, who’d taken him home and talked to his mom for hours about maybe getting him some therapy.

The thing that had worried the cop was Eli’s insistence that he’d been gone for months. From his point of view, he had been. The Shadow had picked him up as night began to fall and taken him to Neverland. It was put down to a child’s over-active imagination, a coping strategy for the difficulties caused by his father leaving. Eli had come to believe that as well after a while, because it was less scary than believing that Neverland and Pan’s cruel games were real.

Now he was looking at the kino image of the eternal-youth who had haunted him nightmares for most of his life. The Shadow had flown in the direction of the lake which meant that for whatever reason Driscoll, or rather Pan, was after Izzy and Rush. They were going to need help, so somehow Eli had to explain this messed up situation to Colonel Young. 

He gnawed on his thumbnail, and muttered out loud; “Hey, Colonel, a Disney good guy, who is really a bad guy, is after Izzy and Rush.” 

Yeah, that would get a laugh, and probably a trip to the infirmary for him. He suddenly grinned as an idea hit him. He could Tsoukalos this one. After all it was an explanation that everyone on Destiny would accept.

“This time it’s aliens.”

 

Rush’s shirt was wet. Izzy was crying in her sleep. He was about to wake her when she lurched upright with a strangled gasp. He pushed himself up to sit beside her.

“Darling? Izzy?”

He didn’t ask if she was alright, tears were still rolling down her face and she looked shaken. She took a deep breath and turned to look at him.

“I’m so sorry sweetheart,” – she cupped his face and smiled weakly as he leaned into her touch, - “We’re home.”

Rush frowned, but before he could question her, she placed a finger over his lips.

“Peter Pan.”

Rush’s eyes went wide as Belle’s missing memories flooded into his mind.


	7. Chapter 7

Belle wrapped the travelling cloak around Gideon’s shoulders. Tears were leaking from the corners of his eyes. It broke her heart that he was crying, but at the same time his tears fuelled her anger at Rumple.

“Mama?”

She wiped the tears away with her thumb; “Hush. It’s alright, son. We’re just going on a little trip.”

He glanced at the door to the great hall and a hopeful smile flickered on his face. Belle knew Rumple was standing there. Their son raised his hand to wave at him, but Belle caught hold of it in her own and held on tight. Gideon’s face was twisted in confusion, but he didn’t try to pull away. Belle took a deep breath and turned to face the Dark One.

Rumple’s hand was half-raised. He swallowed and dropped it to his side. She could see him trying to school his features into a black mask, but she knew him too well to be fooled. He was hurting. A flash of anger shot through her. He should be hurting after what he had done.

“We are leaving, and you can’t stop us.”

Rumple started towards them. Belle tugged Gideon behind her and held her ground with a defiant glare. Rumple stopped and huffed; “Belle this is foolish! You are both safer here then anywhere else in the realm!”

“We were until you decided to use our son as bait for that monster.”

She hissed the words in an attempted to not upset Gideon any further. Gideon whimpered and clung to her skirt. This was a mess.

“You know why I did that.”

Even now he couldn’t say he was sorry. Belle bit back everything she wanted to scream at him, they had done that already and it hadn’t helped. She turned away from him and scooped Gideon into her arms. The castle doors opened as she walked towards them, the creak of the hinges not quite drowning out Gideon’s mournful word.

“Papa?”

 

-o0o-

 

Rush retched. He’d forgotten about his son. All this time and he’d had no memory of the child he’d carried, given birth too and loved. Izzy reached for his hand, but he pulled away.

“Just give me a minute.”

Whatever block had been lifted on his memories of being Belle had been torn free like a scab from a wound. Everything that had been buried was now raw, fresh and very painful again. A bitter laugh gurgled from his throat.

“When I asked you to find an alternative to the Dark Curse, I didn’t mean for you to use our son like a spare, so you could get your heir back.”

Tears were falling silently done Izzy’s face; “He was never a spare. I loved him so much, and he was never in any danger, I swear.”

Rush scrubbed his hands over his beard and through his hair; “Yeah, I figured that one out when Father tried to have us arrested.”

Izzy bared her teeth in a snarl; “He did what?”

“No one could lay a hand on us. The protection you’d put on Gid held for us both.”

Rush took Izzy hand and threaded their fingers together. Some of the tension that had Izzy strung like a bow eased from her as she squeezed his hand in return.

“We started making our way back to you, with Father hurling insults as we went. We tried to summon you.”

He couldn’t keep the accusation from his tone. As Belle he’d been hurt by Father’s actions and for Rumple to have apparently abandoned them too had been even worse.

Izzy sagged, and fresh tears rolled down her cheeks; “I heard you, but I wasn’t allowed to answer.”

Rush’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. Rumple could ignore a summons, but nothing could deny him the right to answer if he wanted to. Nothing except…

“Who had your dagger?”

 

-o0o-

 

“Look at the footage! Whatever that alien tech is, Driscoll is sending it straight at Izzy and Rush!”

Eli was rapidly losing patience with Young. He was finally understanding why Rush shouted at the colonel so much; he insisted on asking bloody stupid questions.

Young shifted on his feet and replayed the footage Eli had handed him. It was carefully edited to only show Driscoll sending the Shadow towards the lake. Eli hadn’t felt up to explaining how Driscoll had cut his own shadow free, that was far too fairytale for the moment, and he wasn’t sure he could get through explaining how evil Pan truly was without breaking down.

Young shrugged; “We’ve never seen anything like this before. How can you be sure it is dangerous?”

Eli sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, partly aware that he’d borrowed the gesture from Rush; “Everett. When do we find anything that isn’t dangerous?”

Young cocked an eyebrow at him and then whistled to Greer and Scott; “Bring your guns, we’ve got to rescue Izzy from someone messing with alien tech.”

Scott grinned; “So we’re going to shoot Rush?”

Eli shook his head; “No, this time it’s Driscoll messing with stuff he shouldn’t.”

Scoot and Greer exchanged a shrug and fell into formation with Young and Eli. As they jogged towards the lake Eli asked Young; “So what did I say that convinced you? Y’know just in case I ever need to do it again.”

“You’ve never called me Everett before.”

 

-o0o-

 

Izzy was shaking. The nightmares she’d had all her life made more sense now, and how she wished she could still tell herself that they were nothing but bad dreams. She remembered standing in the jungle of Neverland, the icy grip of the Dagger’s control holding her against her will, forcing her hand…

“Izzy? Izzy? Who had the Dagger?”

Rush was starting to sound frantic. He deserved the truth, the full horror of what she had done. Her tongue was dry and useless in her mouth. She raised her hand and cupped his face.

“My brave Belle. I am so sorry.”

It was Rush who leaned into her hand, but for a moment Rumple saw Belle. The brave woman who had loved the beast and borne him a son. She didn’t deserve a coward.

Izzy forced her tongue to work, she would be brave for Rush, in the way Rumple hadn’t been able to be for Belle in the end.

“The person who had my Dagger was…”

A dark shadow swooped over them. Rush looked up in panic, but Izzy didn’t take her eyes from his face, she didn’t need to look she knew what was there.

“Pan, Peter Pan had my Dagger.”

Rush clutched her into his chest as the Shadow of Pan descended.


End file.
